Anesthesiology Research
doctors reaching into laboratory equipment

Advancing Science, Improving Patient Care

Join the next generation of researchers in our quest to be the preeminent academic anesthesiology department in the world.
A culture of research and discovery

The U-M Medical School Department of Anesthesiology is at the forefront of addressing key questions in outcomes, neuroscience, and pain and opioids research. Our research is supported by National Institutes of Health funding, as well as a wide array of foundation, state, and industry funding.

Our work spans the translational spectrum, from computational in silico modeling, to animal experimentation, to prospective observational or interventional clinical research, to large-scale epidemiology.

We focus on three areas of research in nationally and internationally recognized centers:

In addition to generating some of the most influential work within the field of anesthesiology, we have rich and productive interdisciplinary connections to basic science, public health, engineering, and even philosophy and the arts.

Our faculty serve major research leadership roles across the university and nationally, in fields that transcend the traditional boundaries of anesthesiology, including genomics, precision health, drug discovery, and translational science. 

We are committed to making a major impact in anesthesiology as well as science, medicine, and society through our discoveries shared through widely-published research and commentaries. We also are focused on shaping a more diverse and inclusive future for academic anesthesiology, both within our department and across the country.
Research Areas
Neuroscience Research

Leading the research of the neuroscientific mechanisms of anesthesia affecting memory, awareness, consciousness and pain.

Outcomes Research

Standing at the forefront of research to better understand the care we provide and the decisions made by clinicians in perioperative practice.

Pain & Opioids Research

Driving efforts to understand pain and how we can improve care and outcomes for patients with acute and chronic pain.

Student Research

Offering a range of opportunities for students to engage in scholarly work across our research domains.

Developing the Next Generation

Career development starts from our internship, with a unique research training month, then progresses to our research resident track, the C-STAR program. We are also one of 16 departments in the country to host an NIH T32 postdoctoral training program.

Learn More About C-STAR
Research Leadership
Chad Brummett Chad M Brummett, MD
Bert N LaDu Professor of Anesthesiology Research
Professor of Anesthesiology
Associate Chair for Research
Department of Anesthesiology
Amy Bohnert Amy SB Bohnert, PhD, MHS
Professor of Anesthesiology
Professor of Psychiatry
Executive Director, Pain and Opioid Research
Anesthesiology
Associate Professor of Epidemiology
Daniel J Clauw MD Daniel J Clauw, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
Professor of Internal Medicine
Professor of Psychiatry and Executive Director
Pain and Opioid Research
Translational Research
Department of Anesthesiology
portrait of Anthony Hudetz Anthony G Hudetz, DBM, PhD
Professor of Anesthesiology and Executive Director
Neuroscience Research
Center for Consciousness Science
portrait of Phillip E Vlisides Phillip E Vlisides, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Executive Director
Neuroscience Research
Sachin Kheterpal Sachin Kheterpal, MD, MBA
Research Professor
Professor of Anesthesiology
Associate Chair for Strategy and Technology
Program Director
Outcomes Research
Associate Dean for Research Information Technology
Featured News & Stories See all news brain drawn
Health Lab
The brain in balance
In a recent study, using network neuroscience, investigators found a way to objectively determine the balance of integration and segregation in fMRI-measured brain signals during wakefulness as well as during sleep and anesthesia.
 Anesthesiology Research Retreat 2024
Department News
Annual Anesthesiology Research Retreat highlights impact of work across the department
The UMMS Department of Anesthesiology annual Research Retreat highlights work taking place across the department.
 Health Lab Podcast in brackets with a background with a dark blue translucent layers over cells
Health Lab Podcast
The “chemical nudges” approach to chronic pain
In this episode, you will get to hear Dr. Boehnke, in his own words, talk about his experiences, and the “chemical nudges” approach to chronic pain; reframing the role of medications in chronic pain management, and why solely relying on pain relievers “disempowers patients, clinicians and the drugs themselves.”
 Mark Bicket
Department News
Mark Bicket, MD, PhD, named ASRA Pain Medicine Presidential Scholar
The award is given biannually to recognize outstanding scientific and sustained contributions to regional anesthesia, acute, or chronic pain medicine over the preceding 10 years.
News Release
U-M awarded $3.6M to study post-surgery pain management for individuals with opioid use disorder
The University of Michigan will use a new $3.6 million federal grant to study how pain and opioids after surgery impact people with opioid use disorder, how guidelines might be adjusted to address post-surgical pain and how to prevent opioid-related harms.
 Blurry Operating Room
Department News
New insights on persistent opioid use after surgery and genetic associations to opioid use disorder
In a recent edition of Genetic Epidemiology, Aubrey C. Annis and mentors Gonçalo R. Abecasis and Chad Brummett have new insights to share on these genetic associations in their publication, “Genetic Associations of Persistent Opioid Use After Surgery Point to OPRM1 but Not Other Opioid-Related Loci as the Main Driver of Opioid Use Disorder”.